Brite Divinity School
Approved by the University Senate for United Methodist ordination.
Brite is the reason not to assume that a non–United Methodist school means a United Methodist problem. It is a Disciples-founded divinity school on the TCU campus in Fort Worth, and it says that after Disciples students, United Methodists are its largest group. It teaches United Methodist history, doctrine, mission, and polity in house, with denominational approval, and it has a Methodist studies chair to teach them. For a candidate weighing Senate-approved schools in Texas, Brite and Austin Seminary are an hour and a half apart and answer the ¶324.4 question very differently.
The Discipline's requirements, at this school.
¶324.4 asks for nine areas of basic graduate theological study, three semester hours each, with a minimum of six hours in United Methodist studies. Not pass/fail. ¶335.3(d) asks for them again at full connection, so they cannot be put off.
University Senate standing
Approved — non–United Methodist
On the University Senate's list of approved non–United Methodist schools of theology.
As of July 2026 · source ↗
Do online classes count?
No — no online or distance class here counts toward ¶324.4
GBHEM states that none of the Senate-approved non-UMC schools may provide distance or online education counting toward an M.Div. for UM ordination, and that online or distance classes taken at them cannot count. This applies to Brite regardless of how helpful the rest of its United Methodist provision is.
As of July 2026 · source ↗
Brite is the unusual case, and worth understanding before you rule out non–United Methodist schools. It is a Disciples-founded divinity school at TCU, and it says that after Disciples students, United Methodists are its largest group. More to the point, it teaches the ¶324.4 United Methodist material in house: “The courses taught at Brite in United Methodist history, doctrine, mission, and polity — which are required for ordination in the United Methodist Church — have been officially approved by appropriate denominational offices.” There is a faculty chair attached to it, Natalya Cherry, Associate Professor in Methodist Studies and Theology. That is a materially different situation from a Senate-approved school where the United Methodist requirement is simply absent.
Two cautions. First, these are courses on offer, not a required core — you still have to choose them, and Brite describes its M.Div. as flexible with much freedom in course selection. Second, we could not verify Brite's full required M.Div. curriculum from its published pages, so this page deliberately shows no nine-area table rather than guess at one. Ask the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for a degree plan, and take it to your board.
Ask Brite directly which specific course numbers carry the denominationally-approved United Methodist history, doctrine, mission, and polity content, and get the list in writing. Brite names the Office of the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs as the office that helps with this.
Talk to Natalya Cherry. A Methodist studies chair at a non–United Methodist school exists precisely for candidates in your position, and she will know how other UMC students here have satisfied their boards.
Confirm with your conference's Board of Ordained Ministry registrar. Brite says its courses are approved by the appropriate denominational offices; your board still decides what satisfies your file.
Confirm all of this with your conference’s Board of Ordained Ministry registrar before you enroll. They decide which courses satisfy which requirement — not the catalogue, and not us.
The faculty, by what they work on.
18 faculty, grouped by field rather than alphabetically — because the useful question is not who is here, it is who is here who works on the thing you care about.
Systematic theology
Natalya A. Cherry
Associate Professor in Methodist Studies and Theology
B.A., Georgetown University, 1998
The Methodist studies chair at a school that is not United Methodist. If you are a UMC candidate at Brite, this is the faculty line that exists for you — the courses in United Methodist history, doctrine, mission, and polity run through here.
Recent work (1)
- Believing INTO Christ: Relational Faith and Human Flourishing, Waco, Texas, Baylor University Press, 2021.
Namsoon Kang
Professor of Theology and Religion
B.Th., Methodist Theological Seminary, Seoul, KOREA
Recent work (5)
- Religion and Gender. Revised Edition. Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2018.
- Century. Revised Edition. Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2018.
- The Man with Manicure: Philosophical Essays . Seoul: Hangil Press, 2018.
- Feminism and Christianity. Revised Edition. Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2017.
- On Learning: Critical Reflection . Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2017.
Michael Miller
Associate Professor of Theology
B.A., University of the West Indies
Recent work (2)
- Freedom in Resistance and Creative Transformation
- Reshaping the Contextual Vision in Caribbean Theology
Oluwatomisin Olayinka Oredein
Associate Professor in Black Religious Traditions, Constructive Theology and Ethics
B.A., University of Virginia
Recent work (2)
- The Theology of Mercy Amba Oduyoye: Ecumenism, Feminism, and Communal Practice
- Theopoetics in Color: Embodied Approaches to Theological Discourse
Ethics & public theology
Emilie Casey
Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Care
B.M., University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Jeania Ree Moore
Visiting Assistant Professor of Womanist Theology, Ethics, and Literature
Ph.D. in Theology, Yale University
Oluwatomisin Olayinka Oredein
Associate Professor in Black Religious Traditions, Constructive Theology and Ethics
B.A., University of Virginia
Recent work (2)
- The Theology of Mercy Amba Oduyoye: Ecumenism, Feminism, and Communal Practice
- Theopoetics in Color: Embodied Approaches to Theological Discourse
Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
Ariel Feldman
Rosalyn and Manny Rosenthal Professor of Jewish Studies
B.A., University of Haifa, 2002
Recent work (3)
- The Dead Sea Scrolls Rewriting Samuel and Kings: Texts and Commentary. BZAW 469; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2015.
- Scripture and Interpretation: Qumran Texts that Rework the Bible. Edited by D. Dimant. BZAW 449; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2014.
- The Rewritten Joshua Scrolls from Qumran: Texts, Translations, and Commentary. BZAW 438; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2013.
Wil Gafney
The Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible
B.A., Earlham College, 1987
Recent work (5)
- A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church. Year A . New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.
- A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church. Year W . New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.
- Commentary on Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah . Liturgical Press, 2017.
- Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and of the Throne . Westminster John/Knox Press, 2017.
- The Peoples’ Companion to the Bible , Edited with DeYoung, Curtiss, Wil Gafney, Leticia Guardiola-Saenz, George Tinker, Frank Yamada; Fortress, 2010.
Ludwig Beethoven J. Noya
Assistant Professor of Hebrew Bible
Ph.D. in Hebrew Bible, Vanderbilt University
Womanist & feminist theology
Wil Gafney
The Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible
B.A., Earlham College, 1987
Recent work (5)
- A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church. Year A . New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.
- A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church. Year W . New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.
- Commentary on Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah . Liturgical Press, 2017.
- Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and of the Throne . Westminster John/Knox Press, 2017.
- The Peoples’ Companion to the Bible , Edited with DeYoung, Curtiss, Wil Gafney, Leticia Guardiola-Saenz, George Tinker, Frank Yamada; Fortress, 2010.
Namsoon Kang
Professor of Theology and Religion
B.Th., Methodist Theological Seminary, Seoul, KOREA
Recent work (5)
- Religion and Gender. Revised Edition. Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2018.
- Century. Revised Edition. Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2018.
- The Man with Manicure: Philosophical Essays . Seoul: Hangil Press, 2018.
- Feminism and Christianity. Revised Edition. Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2017.
- On Learning: Critical Reflection . Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2017.
Jeania Ree Moore
Visiting Assistant Professor of Womanist Theology, Ethics, and Literature
Ph.D. in Theology, Yale University
World Christianity
Shonda Jones
Professor of the Practice of Intercultural Leadership
B.A., Texas Christian University, Fort Worth TX
Recent work (3)
- Transforming Service: Reflections of Student Services Professionals in Theological Education. Shonda R. Jones and Pamela R. Lightsey, editors. Pickwick Publications, 2020.
- “Graduate Theological School Choice: A Case for Multiplicity,” in Transforming Service: Reflections of Student Services Professionals in Theological Education. Pickwick Publications, 2020.
- England, K., & Jones, S. (2014). “Indiana.” In J.N. Friedel, J. Killacky, E. Miller, & S. Katsinas (Eds.), Fifty State Systems of Community Colleges: Mission, Governance, Funding & Accountability. Johnson City, TN: The Overmountain Press.
Namsoon Kang
Professor of Theology and Religion
B.Th., Methodist Theological Seminary, Seoul, KOREA
Recent work (5)
- Religion and Gender. Revised Edition. Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2018.
- Century. Revised Edition. Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2018.
- The Man with Manicure: Philosophical Essays . Seoul: Hangil Press, 2018.
- Feminism and Christianity. Revised Edition. Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2017.
- On Learning: Critical Reflection . Seoul: Dongnoek Publisher, 2017.
Timothy S. Lee
Associate Professor of the History of Christianity
B.A., University of Illinois (Urbana), 1983
Recent work (3)
- Special issue of the Journal of Korean Religions , entitled Interpreting Christian Missionary Experiences in Korea , April 2013 (4:1)
- Born Again: Evangelicalism in Korea, (Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 2010).
- Christianity in Korea, co-edited with Robert E. Buswell Jr. (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2006).
Practical theology
Stephen Cady
President and Professor of the Practice of Ministry
B.A., Ohio Wesleyan University
Barbara J. McClure
Christie Cozad Neuger Professor of Pastoral Theology and Practice
B.A., Houghton College, Houghton, NY (1989)
Recent work (2)
- Emotions: Problems and Promise for Human Flourishing (Baylor University Press, 2019).
- Moving Beyond Individualism in Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling: Reflections on Theory, Theology and Practice (Wipf & Stock/Cascade, 2010 and Lutterworth Press, UK, 2011).
Congregational leadership
Stephen Cady
President and Professor of the Practice of Ministry
B.A., Ohio Wesleyan University
Shonda Jones
Professor of the Practice of Intercultural Leadership
B.A., Texas Christian University, Fort Worth TX
Recent work (3)
- Transforming Service: Reflections of Student Services Professionals in Theological Education. Shonda R. Jones and Pamela R. Lightsey, editors. Pickwick Publications, 2020.
- “Graduate Theological School Choice: A Case for Multiplicity,” in Transforming Service: Reflections of Student Services Professionals in Theological Education. Pickwick Publications, 2020.
- England, K., & Jones, S. (2014). “Indiana.” In J.N. Friedel, J. Killacky, E. Miller, & S. Katsinas (Eds.), Fifty State Systems of Community Colleges: Mission, Governance, Funding & Accountability. Johnson City, TN: The Overmountain Press.
Pastoral care & counseling
Emilie Casey
Assistant Professor of Pastoral Theology and Pastoral Care
B.M., University of Tennessee, Knoxville
Barbara J. McClure
Christie Cozad Neuger Professor of Pastoral Theology and Practice
B.A., Houghton College, Houghton, NY (1989)
Recent work (2)
- Emotions: Problems and Promise for Human Flourishing (Baylor University Press, 2019).
- Moving Beyond Individualism in Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling: Reflections on Theory, Theology and Practice (Wipf & Stock/Cascade, 2010 and Lutterworth Press, UK, 2011).
New Testament
Shelly Matthews
Professor of New Testament
B.A., University of North Dakota, 1984
Recent work (5)
- Luke . 2 vols. Wisdom Commentary 43A and 43B. Liturgical Press, 2021.
- The Acts of the Apostles: Taming the Tongues of Fire (Phoenix Guides to the New Testament 4) Sheffield Phoenix Press, 2013.
- Perfect Martyr: The Stoning of Stephen and the Construction of Christian Identity . Oxford University Press, 2010.
- First Converts: Rich Pagan Women and the Rhetoric of Mission in Early Judaism and Christianity. Contraversions: Jews and Other Differences . Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001.
- Violence in the New Testament: Jesus Followers and Other Jews under Empire . New York/London: T & T Clark International, 2005 (Co-edited with E. Leigh Gibson).
Jeremy L. Williams
Associate Professor of New Testament
B.A., Vanderbilt University
Black church studies
Jeania Ree Moore
Visiting Assistant Professor of Womanist Theology, Ethics, and Literature
Ph.D. in Theology, Yale University
Oluwatomisin Olayinka Oredein
Associate Professor in Black Religious Traditions, Constructive Theology and Ethics
B.A., University of Virginia
Recent work (2)
- The Theology of Mercy Amba Oduyoye: Ecumenism, Feminism, and Communal Practice
- Theopoetics in Color: Embodied Approaches to Theological Discourse
Wesleyan & Methodist studies
Natalya A. Cherry
Associate Professor in Methodist Studies and Theology
B.A., Georgetown University, 1998
The Methodist studies chair at a school that is not United Methodist. If you are a UMC candidate at Brite, this is the faculty line that exists for you — the courses in United Methodist history, doctrine, mission, and polity run through here.
Recent work (1)
- Believing INTO Christ: Relational Faith and Human Flourishing, Waco, Texas, Baylor University Press, 2021.
Christian education & formation
Russell W. Dalton
Professor of Religion Education
B.A., Central Michigan University, 1984
Recent work (5)
- The Children’s Bible in America: A Reception History of Noah’s Ark in U.S. Children’s Bibles. London, New York: Bloomsbury T & T Clark’s Library of Biblical Studies, 2015.
- Marvelous Myths: Marvel Superheroes and Heroic Living in the Real World. St. Louis, Missouri, Chalice Press, 2011.
- Faith Journey through Fantasy Lands: A Christian Dialogue with Harry Potter, Star Wars, and The Lord of the Rings. Minneapolis: Augsburg-Fortress Press, 2003.
- Introduction to Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ , by Lew Wallace, xi-xix. New York: Barnes and Nobles Books, 2004.
- Video, Kids, and Christian Education . Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2001.
Interreligious engagement
Ariel Feldman
Rosalyn and Manny Rosenthal Professor of Jewish Studies
B.A., University of Haifa, 2002
Recent work (3)
- The Dead Sea Scrolls Rewriting Samuel and Kings: Texts and Commentary. BZAW 469; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2015.
- Scripture and Interpretation: Qumran Texts that Rework the Bible. Edited by D. Dimant. BZAW 449; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2014.
- The Rewritten Joshua Scrolls from Qumran: Texts, Translations, and Commentary. BZAW 438; Berlin: de Gruyter, 2013.
Liturgy & worship
Wil Gafney
The Right Rev. Sam B. Hulsey Professor of Hebrew Bible
B.A., Earlham College, 1987
Recent work (5)
- A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church. Year A . New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.
- A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church. Year W . New York: Church Publishing Incorporated, 2021.
- Commentary on Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah . Liturgical Press, 2017.
- Womanist Midrash: A Reintroduction to the Women of the Torah and of the Throne . Westminster John/Knox Press, 2017.
- The Peoples’ Companion to the Bible , Edited with DeYoung, Curtiss, Wil Gafney, Leticia Guardiola-Saenz, George Tinker, Frank Yamada; Fortress, 2010.
Church history
Timothy S. Lee
Associate Professor of the History of Christianity
B.A., University of Illinois (Urbana), 1983
Recent work (3)
- Special issue of the Journal of Korean Religions , entitled Interpreting Christian Missionary Experiences in Korea , April 2013 (4:1)
- Born Again: Evangelicalism in Korea, (Honolulu: University of Hawaii, 2010).
- Christianity in Korea, co-edited with Robert E. Buswell Jr. (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2006).
Preaching
Lance Pape
Granville and Erline Walker Associate Professor of Homiletics
B.A., Institute for Christian Studies, 1991
Recent work (2)
- The Scandal of Having Something to Say: Ricoeur and the Possibility of Postliberal Preaching . Waco, Texas: Baylor University Press, 2013.
- New Proclamation Year C 2013: Easter Through Christ the King . Turner, Mary Donovan, Eric D. Barreto, Walter C. Bouzard, and Lance Pape, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2013.
Spiritual formation
Timothy H. Robinson
Alberta H. and Harold L. Lunger Associate Professor of Spiritual Resources and Disciplines
B.A., Milligan College, 1987
Recent work (3)
- A Companion to the Song of Songs in Christian Spirituality, editor. Leiden: Brill Publishing, 2021
- The Reverend Edward Taylor’s Sacramental Meditations on the Song of Songs: The Erotic Devotion of an American Puritan . Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen Press, 2012.
- Spirit and Nature: The Study of Christian Spirituality in a Time of Ecological Urgency. Eugene, OR: Pickwick Publications, 2011.
All 18 faculty listed here have their own bio page at brite.edu/staff/<name> — the shared facultyandstaff directory page just doesn't link to all of them (six were only findable through Brite's own XML sitemap). Degrees are sourced from those bio pages for every person; three recent hires (Casey, Moore, Noya) state their degrees only in prose rather than a structured list, so what's recorded for them is limited to what the prose actually names. Publications are a selection, not a CV, and are present for 13 of 18 — the other 5 (Cady, Casey, Moore, Noya, Williams) either publish no formal citation list on their bio page (Cady, Casey, Moore, Noya) or the page's list is broken into unreadable fragments (Williams's has several titles smashed into one malformed link) that weren't trustworthy enough to reproduce here.
Titles and fields are the school’s own; the grouping is ours. Where Brite Divinity Schoolpublishes a page for someone, it’s linked above as “Profile.” Professors answer email from prospective students more often than you would guess. Publication lists come from the school’s own annual listing ↗, are a selection rather than a full CV, and are only shown for people currently on the directory.
The degrees.
Master of Divinity
81 hrsThe ordination degree. Brite describes the curriculum as flexible, with much freedom in course selection and optional certificates of study — which is an advantage if you are planning around ¶324.4 and a hazard if you are not.
Master of Arts in Theology and Ministry
Named by Brite as a deacon-track option
Brite names this, or the Certificate of Theological Studies, as a route by which students preparing for deacons' ordination may meet UMC expectations.
Doctor of Ministry
Charged as a programme fee rather than per hour — $13,200 in three years of instalments for those entering from May 2015.
Doctor of Philosophy
Brite states that all admitted Ph.D. students receive full tuition grants for their first four years.
Money, plainly.
Tuition
$1,000 per semester hour for master's programs
Stated for 2025–26. The M.Div. is 81 hours.
As of August 2025 · source ↗
Typical award
The Elmer D. Henson tuition grant normally covers 50–80% of tuition for M.Div. students
Read the timing carefully. Brite's page says the Henson grant is available “prior to Summer 2023 and after Spring 2027 — the period of Next Brite scholarships,” which means a different scholarship regime is in force right now. Do not assume the 50–80% figure applies to a cohort starting this year; ask what a current entering student actually receives.
As of August 2025 · source ↗
- Divinity School fee — $1,110 per semester at 9+ hours; $135 per semester hour part-time
- Brite Student Government fee — $20
- Graduation fee (master's) — $65
Brite also states that tuition grants cover the hours required for the degree plus six extra for the M.Div., and that beyond that you pay full tuition. If you expect to repeat a course or take more than the minimum — and someone closing a United Methodist studies gap may well take more — that ceiling is the number to ask about.
Place, and what else is within reach.
Texas Christian University
Brite sits on the TCU campus in Fort Worth at 2925 Princeton Street, with its own charter and trustees.
Council of Southwestern Theological Schools
Eleven Protestant and three Roman Catholic institutions. Brite says selected students and faculty have taken inter-seminary courses across COSTS schools, including an intensive in interfaith dialogue.
Denominational programmes
Alongside United Methodist Studies, Brite runs Disciples Formation, Baptist Studies, Episcopal Studies, Presbyterian Studies, United Church of Christ support, and is a recognised partner school of the Metropolitan Community Churches. If you are discerning across traditions, that breadth is unusual.
Who this fits, and what to weigh.
- United Methodists in the Dallas–Fort Worth area who want a non-UMC school without inheriting a ¶324.4 gap.
- People whose call is still ecumenically unsettled, where seven denominational programmes under one roof is a real advantage.
- Candidates drawn to womanist and Black theological scholarship, where the faculty is genuinely deep.
- The United Methodist courses are on offer, not required. Brite calls its M.Div. flexible with much freedom in course selection — plan the freedom, don't just enjoy it.
- No online or distance class taken here counts toward ordination. That is GBHEM's rule for every Senate-approved non-UMC school.
- Read the tuition-grant timing carefully. Brite's stated 50–80% Henson grant applies outside the current Next Brite scholarship period, so ask what an entering student actually gets this year.
- Tuition grants cover required hours plus six. If closing a requirement means extra hours, that ceiling matters.
- United Methodist history, doctrine, mission, and polity are taught here and officially approved — at a school that is not United Methodist.
- Natalya Cherry holds a chair in Methodist Studies and Theology; the courses run through her.
- Seven named denominational programmes — Disciples, Baptist, Episcopal, MCC, Presbyterian, UCC, United Methodist — which is unusual breadth if you are still discerning across traditions.
- Member of the Council of Southwestern Theological Schools, eleven Protestant and three Roman Catholic institutions, with inter-seminary courses.
- Wil Gafney holds the Hulsey chair in Hebrew Bible.
Send one email this week.
Not an application — an email. Pick the professor above whose field is closest to what you cannot stop thinking about, and ask them what they are working on. Then ask admissions to sit in on one class. Both are free, and both tell you more than a brochure will.
Everything on this page was checked against the school’s own published material on August 6, 2026. Costs and curricula change every year — the source link beside each fact is the one that stays current.